Trump Media figured out how to monetize the one thing people already get for free. Refreshing a webpage. The interim CEO defended this. Used his real name and everything.
Kevin McGurn stood in front of cameras and said yes, we are charging people to see Truth Social posts slightly faster than the poors who wait. He said more people signed up. Did not specify whether these customers arrived voluntarily or were rounded up by men in vans.
The business model is elegant. Trump posts something. You pay money. You see it three seconds before Gary from Milwaukee. Gary gets it free but has to watch you win at capitalism. This is what they meant by trickle-down economics.
Imagine explaining this to your spouse. Honey, I bought premium access to someone's social media feed. Not exclusive content. Not early warnings about market-moving news. Just faster access to posts everyone gets anyway. She asks how much. You tell her. She starts researching divorce lawyers who accept payment in Truth Social stock.
The interim CEO part matters. That means temporary. That means the last guy either quit or got fired and they have not found someone permanent willing to attach their name to this operation. McGurn drew the short straw. Now he is on television defending the sale of refresh-button acceleration.
Retail traders will buy this. They bought NFTs of cartoon apes. They bought Hertz in bankruptcy. They will absolutely pay cash money to read a tweet four seconds before their brother-in-law. Then they will brag about it at Thanksgiving. Then they will wonder why nobody calls anymore.
The company said more people signed up. Did not say how many. Did not release numbers. Just said more. More than what. More than yesterday. More than zero. More than the number of people who think this makes sense as a product offering.
Somewhere a venture capitalist is writing a check and calling it market innovation.
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